


Safe and Sound

by princehuangss



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, I'm so sorry, M/M, Married Couple, One Shot, This is the saddest thing I've ever written, house fire, not graphic just sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:41:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23282689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princehuangss/pseuds/princehuangss
Summary: Even when the walls were crumbling down around them,Taeyong never felt safer than when he was in Johnny's arms.
Relationships: Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 12
Kudos: 52





	Safe and Sound

**Author's Note:**

> fic inspired by the song 'safe and sound' by taylor swift + the civil wars
> 
> yet again I am so sorry

“Johnny!”

Taeyong’s voice cracked from strain, and his throat burned as he inhaled more and more smoke. It burned like the walls of the house surrounding him, flames licking at his heels as he stumbled from room to room. 

“Johnny, please! Answer me!” Taeyong choked out again.

Taeyong barely avoided a patch of fire blocking the entrance to his and Johnny’s shared bedroom, pushing his way in. He entered just in time to see the portrait hanging above their bed fall from the wall and become engulfed in flames. Taeyong couldn’t help the sob he let out, tired and broken and helpless.

He remembers the day they had hung it on the wall, so vividly as if it had been the day before.  
  
  


Johnny and Taeyong had just moved into their new house. Finally, after weeks of signing papers and hauling boxes, everything was set up and in place. Taeyong’s dream of owning this house in the quiet countryside with his most beloved had finally come into fruition.

After all the furniture had been unpacked and put in its rightful place, Taeyong scanned the bedroom and narrowed his eyes, deep in thought. Despite all the rooms being full, the house still felt a little empty, as if it weren’t quite complete…

Taeyong snapped his fingers, startling Johnny out of his thoughts. “You know what this place needs?”

“What?” Johnny asked, indulging him.

“Decoration. The walls are too bare. It doesn’t feel quite like home yet.”

Johnny’s only response to that was a sly grin, as he made his way over to Taeyong. Johnny wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist, hooking his chin on Taeyong’s shoulder.

“I think… anywhere that you are feels like home.” He murmured into Taeyong’s ears. Taeyong let out a small shriek as Johnny’s breath tickled his neck, before shoving Johnny away with a groan.

“You’re a disgusting sap, you know that?”

Johnny hummed, turning Taeyong around in his arms and touching their foreheads together. “Just the way you like me though.” 

Taeyong couldn’t argue with that, so instead he wrapped his arms around Johnny’s neck and caught the other man’s grinning lips with his own.

The very next day the pair went shopping for little things to fill their home. Not too many, Taeyong reminded Johnny, because they would no doubt pick up many more little trinkets on their future travels. That day was when Johnny came across the most beautiful painting of the mountains of Switzerland. It just happened to be at the top of their list of dream vacation destinations, (yes, they had a list) so Taeyong insisted that they buy it and hang it right above their bed where they’ll always see it.

A few days after that, Johnny brought home a little dog, much to Taeyong’s surprise. Although hesitant at first, Taeyong quickly grew quite fond of her. He was the one who would eventually give her a name— Ruby.

Ruby was most likely downstairs, in the kitchen where her dog bed was. Taeyong longed to race downstairs and scoop her up in his arms, but the stairs had already crumbled into almost nothingness. Besides, Taeyong needed to find Johnny first. Taeyong tried not to think of the little dog, how lonely and scared she must be, and he pushed on.

“Johnny, please.” Taeyong whimpered. His voice sounded terrible and scratchy. Sweat was pouring down every surface of his body and he was beginning to feel dizzy from all the smoke. But he could not give up now. He could not sit here and die, not even knowing the fate of his other half. 

_ Come on Lee Taeyong,  _ Johnny would say,  _ You’re better than this. You didn’t come this far just to sit down and give up.  _ Taeyong sobbed pitifully, but he stayed upright.

Just when Taeyong thought he’d never find his husband, he heard a small voice from the master bathroom call out.

“Taeyong-ah.” Johnny sounded just as bad as Taeyong, and an additional strain riddled his voice, as if he was in pain. Taeyong’s heart surged up into his throat and he barreled forward, not even caring about the house crumbling and burning to the ground around him.

He tripped over a fallen beam on his way, allowing flames to surround his leg. Taeyong let out a brief yelp, but pulled his leg from the flame and continued until he finally reached the bathroom.

His leg hurt like the deepest depths of hell and his lungs felt ready to collapse, but as if on some sort of heavy drug, the pain was momentarily lifted from Taeyong’s mind when he finally laid eyes on his husband. The other man was not looking too well himself, obviously injured and on the brink of consciousness, but he was there, and he was alive.

Johnny was laid out in their bathtub, one badly injured leg propped up on the side. His dazed eyes cleared up immediately at the sight of Taeyong, and his face sagged with relief.

“Darling come here.” he whispered, and Taeyong did not waste a moment further rushing over and kneeling down beside the tub.

“What happened to your leg?” Taeyong questioned, horrified as his legs hovered over the injury.

“Falling debris,” Johnny replied, “Don’t worry about it.”

Taeyong’s eyes widened at the words, mind still working a mile a minute on how he was going to get them out of there. “Don’t worry about it?! Can you walk? We need to get you out!”

Johnny’s shoulders sagged, an indecipherable look taking residence in his eyes. Taeyong had always described his ability to read Johnny as a superpower, but now he felt nothing but uneasiness as he tried to pick apart what Johnny was thinking.

“Taeyong, darling.”

The use of Johnny’s favorite pet name for Taeyong felt like a stab in the heart. Johnny made no move to rise from the tub, instead holding Taeyong’s hands between his.

“Yong, you need to get out of here. If you try and help me, it’ll only take longer. Please.”

Taeyong’s stomach dropped, and he couldn’t stop the tears that welled up in his eyes. His throat, already strained and painful, felt a new level of discomfort as he tried to hold back devastated sobs. 

“There’s no  _ way  _ I’m leaving you here, Seo Youngho.” Taeyong growled, breaking out Johnny’s full korean name. “If you think— for  _ one second—” _

“Taeyong, please.” Johnny’s eyes filled with desperation, and maybe a few tears. “I— I can’t let you die because of me. Please, if one of us can make it out alive, that’s all I want—”

The tears finally spilled over, pouring down Taeyong’s face like a broken spicket. “You don’t understand,” he sobbed, “I don’t  _ want  _ to live in a world without you, please don’t make me leave—”

Taeyong was suddenly interrupted by a loud crash. As if deciding for them, the bureau outside collapsed under the pressure of the fire, effectively blocking off the door to the bathroom.

Johnny stared at the obstruction for a moment, and Taeyong could see the thoughts flitting around in his mind. Finally, he wordlessly opened his arms, and Taeyong clambered into the tub as carefully as he could. Taeyong settled himself into Johnny’s hold, his shaking arms wrapping around his beloved’s waist. 

Taeyong’s head was pillowed on Johnny’s chest, and he could hear the rhythmic  _ thump-thump  _ of his heart, beating without fail. Taeyong felt like he could drift off just like this.

“Comfortable?” Johnny asked with a chuckle, and Taeyong nodded, his hair brushing against Johnny’s chin. There was comfortable silence for many long moments, until Taeyong decided that he wanted to make the most of their final breaths together.

“Do you remember when we first met?” He asked sleepily. Johnny erupted into giggles at the thought.

“Of course I do,” he smiled, “That’s a day I’ll never forget. What was it you said? ‘ _ A beautiful man like yourself’?” _

Taeyong groaned half-heartedly, muffled by Johnny’s shirt. “Something like that.”

Taeyong and Johnny had met while the pair had both been still living in New York City. Taeyong at the time had just been getting his start as a writer, working an internship at a relatively small publishing house. He lived in the tiniest little studio apartment one could imagine, and was working part time at a barber shop to help himself get by. It was at this part time job where he first met the one whom he would come to call his soulmate.

It was the most cliche of days— a warm, sunny day mid-July— and Taeyong was working a shift at the barber shop. Customers were relatively light that day, as Taeyong suspected they had all congregated at the beaches like everyone else in the country.

Taeyong wasn’t even that upset about being trapped at work on a day like today; he was just in too good of a mood to let anything damper it.

Taeyong was bent down behind the reception desk, refilling the jar of lollipops kept there for their younger customers, when someone cleared their voice above him. Expecting one of his regulars to be waiting to make an appointment, Taeyong shot up and put on his customer service smile.

“Welcome to Kim’s Cuts, what can I—” Taeyong started off confidently, but his voice was caught in his throat when he spied the man across the counter.

He was tall, maybe even a head taller than Taeyong, and his shoulders filled his neatly pressed button down shirt wonderfully. His rich brown hair was neatly maintained and almost reached his eyes. Taeyong would have to ask what shampoo he used, most of the men that came through this place barely put in a fraction of the effort this man obviously did—

But what caught Taeyong captive the most was his face. Perfect bone structure, gentle eyes that could pierce straight through him, and lips pulled into a warm smile.

Taeyong shook his head after he realized he’d been staring for a moment too long, and tried to speak again. “What— What can I help you with today, sir?”

The man’s smile widened at Taeyong’s words. “Just Johnny is fine. I need a little trim for an important interview I have tomorrow.”

Taeyong, flustered at the invitation for a first name basis, stuttered, “I’m— I’m Taeyong. Right this way.”

Johnny followed Taeyong to a chair near the front. The taller man sat quietly as Taeyong fastened a barber’s cape around him, and began to get to work. Taeyong nearly jumped a foot into the air when the man spoke again.

“You can just take a little off the ends. I like my hair a bit long, but I have to keep it professional, you know?”

“I get it.” Taeyong mumbled, distracted with the small, calculated snips to Johnny’s hair. Then, without thinking, “The longer hair… suits a beautiful man like yourself.”

It was dead silent for a long moment, until Taeyong realized what he had said. Horrified, his eyes shot up to the mirror in front of them, and in it he caught Johnny’s gaze. He was met with a thoroughly amused grin from the other man. Anxiety filled his stomach as he struggled for something to say.

“I’m— I’m so sorry, it just slipped—”

“Taeyong. It’s fine.” Johnny let out a soft laugh, and Taeyong cursed inwardly because  _ of course, even his laugh is adorable!  _ “I appreciate the compliment. You’re not too bad yourself.”

Taeyong let out a small strangled sound and he could feel the blush creeping up his neck. He hurriedly forced all of his focus back onto cutting Johnny’s hair. Much to his surprise, he managed not to mess up and by the end, Johnny’s hair was neat and precise, perfect for an interview.

Johnny finished paying and, on his way out, shot Taeyong one last smile and dropped a generous tip in the tip jar. Taeyong was somewhat sad to see the other man go, until he looked closely at the folded bills in the tip jar and noticed a small slip of paper slotted between them. He carefully pulled the paper out, and his face was aflame once again when he read what was written on the paper. 

_ It was nice to meet you Taeyong _

_ Perhaps I could see your beautiful face _

_ again over lunch sometime? _

_ — J _

Printed underneath the words was a phone number, presumably Johnny’s. Taeyong wasn’t sure how much more his frail heart could take of this man, but he feverishly typed the number into his phone’s contacts anyway.

“If I had known how much of a gross flirt you were, I would have saved myself some suffering and not texted you.”

Johnny laughed, coarse from the smoke in his lungs, but still the Johnny laugh that Taeyong knew and loved.

The flames had begun to slowly make their way into the bathroom. Smoke filled Taeyong’s lungs. With every moment his head ached a little more, it became harder and harder to breathe, and he got sleepier and sleepier. Somehow, though, he couldn’t find it in himself to feel anxious or panicky. Not when Johnny was holding him so gently.

This time it was Johnny who spoke up.

“I think meeting you might have been the second greatest day of my life.”

“And what was the first?” Taeyong mumbled.

“Marrying you, of course.”

Taeyong blushed, even more than he already was from the heat of the fire. “I think… that might be my greatest day too.”

Taeyong and Johnny had actually found this house before they were even married. It was not yet for sale when they saw it first. They had been away from their apartment in the big city, visiting Taeyong’s parents in upstate New York. They had passed through an adorable rural town, and had decided to take a look around. They had come across the cozy house, with the little cobblestone walkway and plant boxes in every window, and Taeyong hadn’t been able to stop talking about it all the way home.

“That was the moment I knew I wanted to marry you.” Johnny said, planting a gentle kiss on the crown of Taeyong’s head.

“Really?” The proclamation sent a spike of curiosity through Taeyong as he tilted his head back to meet Johnny’s eyes.

“Yes, my dear. When I saw that little house in the countryside, and heard the way you talked about it, I couldn’t help but imagine us in that house, growing old and grey together.” Johnny’s voice cracked with emotion, and tears lept to Taeyong’s eyes as well. “I knew in that moment that I wanted absolutely nothing more than to have you by my side for the rest of my life.”

Taeyong buried his face back into Johnny’s chest, and let fresh tears stain the fabric of his shirt. While they may not be able to grow old and grey like Johnny had wished, they would certainly be together side by side until their final moments.

“I was a nervous wreck before the wedding, did you know that?”

Johnny chuckled. “No, really? Taeyong being nervous? No way.”

Taeyong slapped his chest lightly. “Don’t be rude.” He complained.

Taeyong did not see Johnny at all after he woke up on his wedding day. He had stayed the night at their friend Doyoung’s house, and at promptly 7:30 in the morning, he was dragged from bed and breakfast was thrown at him. 

“Chop, chop, sunshine,” Their other friend Yuta had said as he forced Taeyong to eat. “We’ve got a lot on our schedule today.”

The morning proceeded just as chaotically as his abrupt awakening. Doyoung and Yuta were by his side as he was rushed around to get his hair done, put on his suit, double check with the catering for reception, everything. Nerves began to build up steadily in Taeyong, between the fast pace of the day and the biggest moment of his life looming in front of him. Sicheng joined them some time around noon, out of breath from presumably jogging there.

“Jaehyun is with Johnny, as well as Ten and Kun.” Sicheng spoke. Taeyong’s heart quickened at the thought of his fiancé. 

Jaehyun, Ten, and Kun were Johnny’s groomsmen, and Doyoung, Yuta, and Sicheng were Taeyong’s. Taeyong was eternally thankful for his friends; without them the wedding would have been a mess, and Taeyong would have been even more of a nervous, emotional wreck than he already was.

The moment finally came for Taeyong to don his brand new tuxedo. As Sicheng tightened his tie, all the nerves and emotions that had been building up all day came to a head. His friends, who knew him better than he knew himself, all could tell what was happening when Taeyong tilted his head back to prevent the tears from ruining the little makeup he had on.

“Taeyong, what’s wrong?” Yuta cooed, quickly gathering Taeyong in his arms. Taeyong gratefully reciprocated the hug, burying his face in Yuta’s shoulder. He could feel Doyoung stroking his hair gently and Sicheng rubbing circles on his back, and it only made him choke up more.

“I just— I can’t believe the day is finally here.” he whispered, a sob building up in his throat. “It just feels unreal, everyone I love is here around me, and— and what if I mess up? What if Johnny gets cold feet or my mom has second thoughts about him? Or—”

“Taeyong, look at me” Yuta pulled back to look at Taeyong right in his slightly tear stained eyes. “Take a deep breath. I know this is very overwhelming, but you’ll be completely fine. You have a tendency to worry about anything and everything, but this is one situation where there’s no need for any of that.”

Doyoung piped up, “You have practiced your vows so many times I would guess you could probably say them in your sleep.” Taeyong huffed out a laugh at that, knowing it was true.

“You are the sun, moon, and stars to Johnny, and you know that. Him getting cold feet is the absolute last thing I would expect to happen. And you  _ know  _ how much your mother is obsessed with him. She would never want you to marry anyone  _ but _ him, probably.”

Taeyong nodded at his friend's words, already feeling a bit better. With one last glance in the mirror, he turns back to the small group, standing tall.

“Ready now?” Doyoung asked with a smile.

Taeyong nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Taeyong could feel Johnny’s big dumb smile pressed into the top of his head as he finished talking.

“Do you know how much I love you, Lee Taeyong?” he asked softly.

“Not nearly as much as I love you.” Taeyong responded, and Johnny gasped.

“That’s impossible.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Lee Taeyong,” Johnny started, pulling his arms even tighter around him, “you are my sun, my moon, and every single star in between.”

Taeyong smiled into Johnny’s shirt. “I know.”

The pain in Taeyong’s chest and head was bordering on unbearable now. The flames had made their way well into the bathroom by now, slowly engulfing the medicine cabinet. It was almost impossible to see through the thick, black smoke that filled the room. 

Taeyong coughed weakly, struggling to stay awake. With every moment, his eyelids got heavier and heavier.

“Sing me a song?” he whispered, barely audible and as fragile as he’d ever heard himself.

Johnny nodded in understanding, and slowly began to stroke Taeyong’s back, as if soothing a baby to sleep. Taeyong melted into Johnny’s arms even more, if it was possible.

“Sure, Darling. What would you like me to sing?”

Taeyong hummed, deep in thought for a moment. “The song… that your mother sang to you. When you were little,” he finally decided on.

Johnny nodded, cleared his throat, and began to sing. Johnny singing to Taeyong had always been a ritual between the couple. When Taeyong was hit by a particularly harsh wave of anxiety or his incessant thoughts kept him awake at night, Johnny would do his best to sing his worries away. The gentle, warm lilt of his husband’s voice never failed to put Taeyong at ease.

His favorite song, he had found, was one lullaby from Johnny’s childhood.

Johnny’s voice started out hoarse and rough, struggling with every note. As the song went on, however, he seemed to recover somewhat of his old voice.

_ Just close your eyes, the sun is going down _

_ You’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now. _

Johnny sang softly into the top of Taeyong’s head, feeling the smaller boy’s body relax more and more, his heavy, wheezing breath even out. Johnny squeezed his lover in his arms, tears rolling down his face freely now. The flames had nearly reached their little sanctuary in the tub by now, and with every line Johnny sang, he found it harder and harder to stay awake as well.

Johnny took one last glance down at Taeyong. His eyes were closed gently and he had stopped breathing by now. He had the most peaceful expression on his face that Johnny had possibly ever seen on him.

Satisfied, Johnny tilted his head back until it came to rest against the wall, and sang the last few lines of the song.

_ Come morning light, _

_ You and I’ll be safe and sound. _

Johnny huffed out one more breath, arms tight around his husband, his entire world, and let his eyes finally fall shut.

  
  



End file.
